Stronger Communities through Better Transit Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3744 To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a program to provide grants to eligible recipients for eligible operating support costs of public transportation and associated capital improvements, and for other pur- poses. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 8, 2021 Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. GARCI´A of Illi- nois, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. ESPAILLAT, and Mr. CARSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a pro- gram to provide grants to eligible recipients for eligible operating support costs of public transportation and as- sociated capital improvements, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stronger Communities 4 through Better Transit Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3744.IH H3744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3744 IH SEC. 2. HIGH QUALITY TRANSIT OPERATING SUPPORT PRO- 1 GRAM. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of title 49, United 3 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 5307 4 the following: 5 ‘‘§ 5308. High quality transit operating support pro- 6 gram 7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 8 shall establish a program under which the Secretary may 9 make grants to eligible recipients for eligible operating 10 support costs of public transportation and associated cap- 11 ital improvements. 12 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—The Secretary 13 shall allocate funding as follows: 14 ‘‘(1) 75 percent through the formula under sec- 15 tion 5336. 16 ‘‘(2) 23.75 percent through the formula under 17 section 5311(c)(3). 18 ‘‘(3) 1.25 percent to Indian Tribes through the 19 formula under section 5311(j). 20 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Eligible recipients may use 22 funding provided under this section for eligible oper- 23 ating support costs of public transportation and as- 24 sociated capital improvements that make substantial 25 improvements to transit service as measured by a 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3744.IH H3744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3744 IH comparison to the number of revenue hours of serv- 1 ice provided by the recipient during the covered pe- 2 riod, including— 3 ‘‘(A) operating projects that decrease 4 headways; 5 ‘‘(B) operating projects that expand service 6 area, hours, or days; 7 ‘‘(C) operating projects for new or in- 8 creased frequent non-fixed guideway service or 9 frequent fixed guideway service; 10 ‘‘(D) service planning, including planning 11 to address changing demographics, changing 12 travel movement, network redesign (including 13 the implementation of a plan that results in a 14 net increase in service hours across a region, 15 subregion, or study area), and accommodating 16 essential service trips (including service trips 17 for employment, healthcare facilities, child care, 18 education and workforce training, food sources, 19 banking and other financial institutions, and 20 other retail shopping establishments); 21 ‘‘(E) measuring access to work and essen- 22 tial services, particularly for non-drivers, includ- 23 ing data acquisition and acquiring outside sup- 24 port for conducting the analysis; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3744.IH H3744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3744 IH ‘‘(F) associated capital improvements re- 1 lated to projects described in subparagraphs 2 (A) through (E). 3 ‘‘(2) COVERED YEAR FOR REVENUE HOURS.— 4 ‘‘(A) COVERED PERIOD DEFINED.—In this 5 subsection, the term ‘covered period’ means— 6 ‘‘(i) for the period beginning on the 7 date of enactment of this section and end- 8 ing on the last day of the fiscal year 3 fis- 9 cal years thereafter, fiscal year 2019; and 10 ‘‘(ii) for the period beginning on the 11 first day of the fourth fiscal year after the 12 date of enactment of this section and con- 13 tinuing through the last day of the fol- 14 lowing fiscal year, the fiscal year preceding 15 the fourth fiscal year. 16 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR EMERGENCY.—In 17 any fiscal year, the Secretary may change the 18 comparison year under paragraph (1) in the 19 case of an emergency. 20 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIZATION.—Recipients of a grant 21 under this section shall balance needs to decrease 22 headways on low-frequency routes with needs for in- 23 creased capacity on high-frequency routes when allo- 24 cating operating costs and public transportation 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3744.IH H3744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3744 IH projects described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) 1 of paragraph (1). 2 ‘‘(4) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 3 requirements of paragraph (3) if an eligible recipient 4 certifies that all of the service provided by such re- 5 cipient meets the baseline frequency and access 6 measurement for access to jobs and essential serv- 7 ices (as determined under subsection (k)) that is sat- 8 isfactory to the Secretary. 9 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a grant 11 under this section may not use more than 10 per- 12 cent of such grant for projects described in subpara- 13 graphs (D) through (F) of subsection (c)(1). 14 ‘‘(2) INCREASE OF LIMITATION.—The Secretary 15 may increase the limitation in paragraph (1) to not 16 more than 20 percent if a recipient can demonstrate 17 that such an increase will result in substantial serv- 18 ice improvements in a given fiscal year. 19 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENT.—A preponderance of a grant re- 20 ceived by a recipient under this section in a fiscal year 21 shall be used for projects that primarily serve underserved 22 communities or areas of persistent poverty. 23 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL SHARE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3744.IH H3744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3744 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of a 1 project or program carried out using a grant award- 2 ed under this section shall be not greater than 50 3 percent. 4 ‘‘(2) INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE FOR CERTAIN 5 AREAS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Fed- 6 eral share of a project or program carried out in an 7 area of persistent poverty or an underserved commu- 8 nity using a grant awarded under this section shall 9 be not greater than 80 percent. 10 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE FOR INDIAN TRIBES.— 11 Notwithstanding paragraph (1), for Indian Tribes 12 receiving funding allocated under subsection (b)(3), 13 the Federal share of a project or program carried 14 out using a grant awarded under this section shall 15 be 100 percent. 16 ‘‘(4) IN KIND MATCH.—Of the non-Federal 17 share required under this subsection, 25 percent 18 may be derived from amounts (other than amounts 19 received from the Federal Transit Administration) 20 expended for associated capital improvements related 21 to a project or program carried out using a grant 22 awarded under this section. 23 ‘‘(g) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—An amount appor- 24 tioned under this section may be obligated by the recipient 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3744.IH H3744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3744 IH for 2 years after the fiscal year in which the amount is 1 apportioned. Not later than 30 days after the end of the 2 2-year period, an amount that is not obligated at the end 3 of that period shall be added to the amount that may be 4 apportioned under this section in the following fiscal year. 5 ‘‘(h) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of receiving a 6 grant under this section, an eligible recipient shall— 7 ‘‘(1) in the case of a recipient in an urbanized 8 area— 9 ‘‘(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit 10 Administration, for inclusion in the National 11 Transit Database— 12 ‘‘(i) service frequency and revenue ve- 13 hicle hours, including revenue vehicle hours 14 and unlinked passenger trips originating 15 and terminating in areas of persistent pov- 16 erty and underserved communities, to- 17 gether with such other specific data as the 18 Secretary shall find necessary and appro- 19 priate; and 20 ‘‘(ii) the number of jobs and essential 21 services accessible by transit, and improve- 22 ment in such access, including specific re- 23 porting on access by transit for areas of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3744.IH H3744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3744 IH persistent poverty and underserved com- 1 munities; and 2 ‘‘(B) demonstrate that such recipient has 3 surveyed, within the past year and at least 4 every 2 years thereafter, current transit riders 5 as well as non-riding residents of areas of per- 6 sistent poverty and underserved communities 7 regarding transit service improvements, using 8 means designed to maximize participation from 9 both riders and non-riders, and has published 10 the survey in an online format; 11 ‘‘(2) in the case of a recipient that is a federally 12 recognized tribe or Alaska Native village— 13 ‘‘(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit 14 Administration, for inclusion in the National 15 Transit Database, revenue vehicle hours and 16 unlinked passenger trips, together with such 17 other specific data as the Secretary shall find 18 necessary and appropriate; and 19 ‘‘(B) demonstrate that such recipient has 20 surveyed, within the past year and at least 21 every 2 years thereafter, current transit riders 22 as well as non-riding residents of the tribe’s or 23 village’s service area regarding transit service 24 improvements, using means designed to maxi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3744.IH H3744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3744 IH mize participation from both riders and non-rid- 1 ers, and has published the survey in an online 2 format; and 3 ‘‘(3) in the case of a recipient that is a State 4 or other possession receiving assistance under sec- 5 tion 5311— 6 ‘‘(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit 7 Administration, for inclusion in the National 8 Transit Database, revenue vehicle hours for 9 each subrecipient receiving assistance under 10 this section, including revenue vehicle hours and 11 unlinked passenger trips originating and termi- 12 nating in areas of persistent poverty and under- 13 served communities, together with such other 14 specific data as the Secretary shall find nec- 15 essary and appropriate; 16 ‘‘(B) provide an annually updated report to 17 the Secretary identifying those underserved 18 communities and areas of persistent poverty in 19 the non-urbanized areas of the State or posses- 20 sion that do not have any reported public tran- 21 sit services, or in which either the availability or 22 utilization of rural public transit is in the bot- 23 tom quintile as compared to all rural public 24 transit services in the United States, using such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3744.IH H3744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3744 IH measurements as shall be identified by the Sec- 1 retary, together with annually updated progress 2 toward achieving the State’s or possession’s 3 strategy for establishing high-quality transit 4 service in these unserved and underserved com- 5 munities and areas of persistent poverty; and 6 ‘‘(C) demonstrate that every subrecipient 7 of the State or posession has surveyed, within 8 the past year and at least every 2 years there- 9 after, current transit riders as well as non- 10 riding residents of areas of persistent poverty 11 and underserved communities within the sub- 12 recipient’s service area regarding transit service 13 improvements, using means designed to maxi- 14 mize participation from both riders and non-rid- 15 ers, and has published the survey in an online 16 format. 17 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 18 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 19 such regulations as are necessary to carry out the program 20 established under subsection (a), including defining the 21 terms ‘frequent service’, ‘preponderance of a grant’, ‘pri- 22 marily serve’, and ‘access to jobs and essential service’ for 23 purposes of this Act, including by taking into account any 24 necessary difference in the definition of such terms re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3744.IH H3744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3744 IH quired for urbanized areas, rural areas located near ur- 1 banized areas, and remote rural areas. 2 ‘‘(j) PROHIBITION ON PRIVATIZATION.—Any eligible 3 project carried out using a grant under this section shall 4 be operated and maintained by employees of an existing 5 public transportation provider in the service area. 6 ‘‘(k) ACCESS MEASUREMENT.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pro- 8 gram under this section, the Secretary shall set up 9 a multimodal access measurement interface that is 10 open to any public agency through the program 11 under section 5505 of title 49, United States Code, 12 to aid transit agencies in determining and reporting 13 on access to jobs and essential services. 14 ‘‘(2) INTERIM DATA.—Until the access meas- 15 urement interface under paragraph (1) is estab- 16 lished, an eligible recipient may use other data 17 sources to determine and report on access to jobs 18 and essential services. 19 ‘‘(l) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the 20 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 21 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 22 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep- 23 resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 24 Urban Affairs of the Senate a report that reviews the out- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3744.IH H3744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3744 IH comes of the program established under subsection (a), in- 1 cluding new service produced and improvements in access 2 to work and essential services, particularly for areas of 3 persistent poverty and underserved communities. 4 ‘‘(m) PREVAILING WAGE.—The Secretary shall en- 5 sure that any labor associated with eligi [Text truncated for display. 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